Episodes

Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007 and Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute, joins Michael Liebreich for the first episode of Season 3. Bio Tony Blair was the UK Prime Minister from 1997 to 2007 and is now the Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute, a not-for…

Teresa Ribera, Deputy Prime Minister in the Spanish government and the Minister for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, is joining us this week on Cleaning Up. She has played a key role in Spain’s low-carbon transition and is a vocal advocate of a green COVID-19 recovery. Bio …

This week, Michael Liebreich is joined by Professor Jim Skea from Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy and the co-author of the seminal IPCC 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C. Bio Jim Skea is a Professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College London and t…

This week our guest on Cleaning Up is Kate Hampton, the CEO of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation and a long-time expert in sustainable finance and the carbon markets. Bio Kate Hampton has been the CEO of the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) since March 2016. Before that…

This week, Kristian Ruby, the Secretary-General of Eurelectric since 2017, will be joining us for a conversation. Eurelectric is a pan-European organisation with the aim of representing the common interests of the electricity industry. He was also once part of the Danish government in the Ministrie…

Today is International Women’s Day. We want to take the time to highlight some of the incredible women who are leading the world’s pivot to net-zero. From politics to finance and diplomacy, these women are vital to climate action on an international level. Each episode is available in full at www…

From the core of British politics, Amber Rudd joins Michael Liebreich for a conversation. She is the former MP for Hastings and Rye representing the Conservative party, the Home Secretary for 2 years from 2016, and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2018 to 2019. Bio Amber R…

Joining Cleaning Up today is start-up legend, Greg Jackson. Greg is CEO and founder of Octopus Energy whose mission is to bring ‘power to the people’ by supplying their customers with 100% green electricity at fair prices. Bio Greg Jackson is the CEO and founder of Octopus Energy, the new…

Emma Howard Boyd is one of the leading voices in the UK’s Environment scene. As the Chair of the Environment Agency, she is at the forefront of the current environment agenda. This week, Michael and Emma will discuss everything from recent flooding in the UK to the unique UWC schooling experience. …

Having first met in Business School in Harvard, Claire Perry O'Neill and Michael Liebreich go back a long way. However, he has never been surprised at how much she's achieved since then. From finance to politics and now to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, she has been behind …

This week, we welcome Steven Chu, Professor of Physics and Physiology at Stanford University, and the 1997 co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics to Cleaning Up. Professor Chu was was the first of two Secretaries of Energy during President’s Obama term as president, the second being Ernie …

Named one of the most influential people in the energy sector by the Forbes magazine and the energy personality of the year by the Financial Times in 2017, Fatih Birol is one of the most important voices in the energy world. He is the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, leading i…

Beverley Gower-Jones is the leading figure in the cleantech start-up world. She is the Managing Partner at the Clean Growth Fund which invests in the UK's most promising early-stage, clean growth ventures. She’s also the CEO and founder of Carbon Limiting Technologies, helping companies to commerci…

More than any other single person, Zac Goldsmith - or The Right Honourable Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park as he is properly known – is responsible for the UK Conservative Party’s relatively recent conversion to the cause of the environment. Bio Zac Goldsmith has devoted his entire profes…

How do we get climate at the forefront of politics? How can we good data influence the climate transition? In the first episode of the second season of Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich speaks to Bryony Worthington: a crossbench member of the House of Lords, founder of Ember, and the lead author of th…

2020 has been a strange and difficult year. In the midst of the global pandemic, Michael decided to reach out to some familiar faces in global climate leadership not only to catch up but also to discuss how the world can move towards a more sustainable and equitable future. In this Holiday Special,…

Last but not least, our concluding episode of 2020 is with James Cameron. No not the director, but he is doing radical things in a suit (this will make more sense once you press play). Find out why Tom Paine was an important inspiration for his career, what the WTO needs to do to progress and trade…

What is the future of urban transportation in the world’s cities? Will autonomous cars revolutionize our lives? Meet the woman behind the world’s largest car sharing company, Robin Chase, the transport entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Zipcar, Veniam and now, co-founder of NUMO. She is also a …

What happens behind the scenes of the EU Parliament? One of the leading figures in European politics, Claude Turmes, the Minister for Energy and Minister for Spatial Planning in Luxembourg, joins Michael Liebreich for episode 21. As a member of the European Green Party and a former Member of the Eu…

As a 10 year old girl, Richenda Van Leeuwen saw a solar panel at the Centre of Alternative Technology on a rainy day in Wales. This would serve as her first point of inspiration for the career ahead of her. Now, she is the Executive Director of Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. In the 20t…

From CEO of Z Energy to founding the Climate Leaders Coalition, Mike Bennetts has had an immense impact on New Zealand’s position in reducing emissions in the country. Mike and Michael sit down from other sides of the world for the 19th episode of Cleaning Up. Mike Bennetts is presently the foundi…

How can venture capital be used to promote social change and environmental improvement? As a leading venture capitalist of her time and one of the early investors in Tesla, find out the drive behind Nancy Pfund’s incredible career, this week, on Cleaning Up. Nancy E. Pfund is Founder and Managin…

What would Professor Ernest Moniz, 13th United States Secretary of Energy, say to the 16th Secretary who will be appointed in the coming months? Would he, as the architect of the JCPOA (known better as the Iran nuclear deal) agree with Donald Trump that it was “the worst deal ever negotiated? (Sp…

How did Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella impact the Sustainable Development Goals? How has he influenced energy's position in development? Dr Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella – known as KKY in his native Sierra Leone - is a senior academic and politician. He joins Michael Liebreich this week to talk about his journey…